A blog of liberal, progressive ideas in politics, government, and social issues.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Trump's attack in Syria -- 24 hours later

The Friday night attack on a Syrian airbase in retaliation for Assad's chemical weapons attack on Syrian people is being characterized by Team Trump as having the limited goal of sending a warning message to Assad and to Russia. They do, however, say that further action is not ruled out.Thus far, it has had little concrete effect. Syrian planes -- some said to have taken off from this same airport -- were out again on Saturday on bombing missions. Syria's ability to make or use chemicals weapons remains intact.

Aides say a comprehensive plan for defeating ISIS is expected soon. Such work has been hampered by the woefully inadequate staffing at the deputy and assistant secretary levels in both Defense and State Departments.

Whether there will be any long-range effect of this dramatic episode remains to be seen.